February 2007 News Archive
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Local Schools Participate in Read Across America
Happy Birthday Dr. Seuss!
Schools across the Santa Barbara School Districts are celebrating the late Dr. Seuss’s March 2 birthday as well as their commitment to literacy by participating in the National Education Association’s (NEA) Read Across America. Now in its tenth year, the annual NEA celebration encourages families, schools, and communities across the nation to come together and read for the fun of it.
This year’s celebration also commemorates the 50th birthday of The Cat in the Hat. In 1954, when Americans asked themselves “Why can’t Johnny read?” it was suggested that reading materials for children were not engaging and did not meet student needs. Pulitzer Prize-winning author John Hersey challenged Dr. Seuss to write a story “first graders wouldn’t be able to put down.” The Cat in the Hat, which used a vocabulary of 236 words, was Dr. Seuss’s 1957 response to the challenge. Move over Dick, Jane, and Spot because the Cat, the Lorax, the Grinch, Horton, Yertle, and friends would soon change the look and feel of children’s books.
Throughout the Santa Barbara Elementary School District, guest readers from the community have signed up to read to children and have children read to them. For example, at 8:30 to 9:30 a.m. on Friday, March 2, 2007, at the Santa Barbara Community Academy, Superintendent Brian Sarvis, Olympian Dax Holdren, Mayor Marty Blum, and other community members will read to students in grades K-3. Mayor Blum will read to all students at 2:00 p.m. in the Board Room, District Administration Center, 720 Santa Barbara Street. The students will also make Dr. Seuss hats. In grades K-1, students will participate in crazy hat day at school, while students in grades 2-3 will take part in crazy hair day.
Also on Friday, Santa Barbara Junior High students will participate in a Cat-in-the-Hat scavenger hunt throughout the campus. They will have a chance to write and illustrate a children's story ala The Cat in the Hat over the next week. Students will be able to pick up special bookmarks commemorating the day and the importance of reading.
22nd Annual Career Day to be held at Dos Pueblos High School
[article provided by the Santa Barbara County Education Office]
Dos Pueblos High School will take its eighth turn hosting the annual South County Career Day starting at 7:30 a.m. on Feb. 28. The 22nd annual event will begin with a breakfast hosted by the Dos Pueblos High School PTSA. Welcoming remarks will be delivered by Santa Barbara High School District Superintendent Brian Sarvis, Dos Pueblos High School Principal Mark Swanitz, and student body president Fatima Mendez. Counselor Scott Guttentag will follow with brief comments for presenters about “How To Deliver Your Message to Young Adults.”
Said Principal Swanitz, “Dos Pueblos High School is honored to host this year's Career Day. The remarkable partnerships between business and education which exist in Santa Barbara and Goleta are virtually unprecedented. The fact that so many professionals are willing to take time from their busy schedules to share their vocations with our students is truly inspiring.”
At 8:36 a.m., some 2,300 students will start attending the first of four 45-minute sessions of their own choosing to learn more about a career pathway, education or training needed, and future jobs outlook. Some 175 professionals representing 90 occupations from economist to psychologist to firefighter to law enforcement will talk with a classroom of students about their profession and the relevance of education to be successful in the world of work.
The morning will conclude with a thank you lunch and acknowledgment of the following: The business community, Partners in Education, Scarab Graphics, Tradart Foundation, Dos Pueblos PTSA volunteers and Chair Betsy Cleary, Regional Occupational Program of the County Education Office, guest speaker coordinator Judy Sarina, and the Career Day Committee chaired by Bonnie Barber. Many business partners have been involved since the first career day in 1985. Dos Pueblos High School first hosted the event in 1986.
SBHS Madrigals Sunday Fundraiser at SOHO
To help the Santa Barbara High School Madrigals perform in the great cathedrals in Europe this summer, a fundraiser will take place at SOHO on Sunday, February 25, 2007. At 7:00 p.m. that evening, the Madrigals will perform selections from Music of the Night. SOHO Restaurant and Music Club is located in downtown Santa Barbara. A $20 donation is requested.
According to director Phil McLendon, the Madrigals last performed in France in 2003, where they were hosted by the city of Gien. They were warmly embraced by the community and received a standing invitation to return, which they will do in June. The Madrigals schedule includes a performance in the Chartres Cathedral, Notre Dame in Paris, as well as other concerts in Paris, Caen, and at Mt. St. Michel.
There will be 27 students on the nine-day tour this year, mostly juniors and seniors. The group will leave Santa Barbara in late June.
For more information on SOHO dinner reservations, call the restaurant at 962-7776. Additional information about the SOHO performance is available from Madrigals contacts Chris at (805) 967-3534 or Maggie at (805) 450-0322.
Faulkner Gallery Exhibition of Local Student Art to Begin on March 2
The artwork of approximately 75 high school and junior high school students from seven secondary schools in the Santa Barbara High School District will be on display at the Faulkner Gallery in the Santa Barbara Public Library, downtown main branch. The exhibition will begin with an opening reception on Sunday March 4, 2007, from 2:00 p.m. until 4:00 p.m. The public is invited. The exhibition will continue through March 30.
The works on paper or canvas were created by students in grades 7-12 during school years 2005-06 and 2006-07. According to Santa Barbara Junior High School art teacher John Houchin, “It has been over a decade since the Santa Barbara High School District has sponsored an all-district show of this kind. Today’s students have expanded into digital arts and graphic design. Their access to technology allows them to expand into new realms of art.”
This event is being sponsored in part by the Santa Barbara Education Foundation and donations from Carleton-Kirkeggard.
Update: Salary Negotiations in the Santa Barbara School Districts
Today, the Santa Barbara School Districts and the Santa Barbara Teachers Association met and did not reach an agreement on salary negotiations. Therefore, pursuant to the law, the mediator will be certifying fact finding to the Public Employment Relations Board.
In fact finding, an impartial three-person fact finding panel will review the budget and determine what is available and then issue a set of non-binding recommendations for a settlement. Management and the union each appoint one member to the fact-finding panel. Then, they mutually agree on a neutral, independent fact-finding panel chairperson from a list of qualified labor relations professionals supplied by the state. The fact-finding hearing usually takes about a month to schedule. The hearing is not open to the public. The process will probably not conclude until later in the year. The cost of fact finding will be borne by the general fund.
Dr. Brian Sarvis, superintendent of the Santa Barbara School Districts, expressed his disappointment that an agreement was not reached.
Superintendent’s Update on District Properties
Message from Superintendent J. Brian Sarvis Santa Barbara School DistrictsThe board is considering a number of options for the Tatum and Hidden Valley properties. The options range from selling the properties to developing market rate housing on ground lease, to developing workforce housing, again on leased property. No decisions have been made yet by the board. All of the options are still being considered.
I have not formed any opinion on how or whether the properties should be developed by the district. But we have been working to obtain information on the various options. In 2004, our real property citizens advisory committee recommended that we employ a firm with expertise in workforce housing to do a study, and that is what we have done. The UniDev report contains a number of options. Other than selling the property, which is one of the options, UniDev has evaluated developments on the Tatum property containing 90, 192 and 276 units, which translates to a maximum of 12 units/acre. We are now studying the report, and when discussions begin with the board we may have additional information to provide.
As I told the board in January 2007, I have asked the county to consider our Tatum site in the county study of affordable housing sites environmental impact report because it will provide more information that may be useful to the decision making process by the board. As the board works through the various possibilities for this property, the more information and input it has the better the process. If the Tatum property is evaluated as an alternate site for affordable housing – and I do not know whether they will – and it is determined that the property either is or is not suitable for workforce housing, or that there are particular issues or impacts, such information would be tremendously important to the board in its decision making process.
The fact that the county study is looking at sites that have the potential for 20 units/acre doesn't mean that the district would propose such a project. We do not contemplate a development of 20 units/acre, nor have we ever considered 20 units per acre. No matter what is contained in the environmental impact report, the mix and density of any development that might eventually be proposed by the board will be the board's decision. We are not close to making such a decision. That will only occur as a result of a very public process that considers the needs of the entire community and the views of the many stakeholders.
We anticipate the next board review of the property options on March 20, 2007. The board meeting will be advertised.
Upcoming Personnel Changes in the Santa Barbara School Districts
Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education
Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education Jan Zettel, who joined the Santa Barbara High School District in July 2004, will retire at the end of the current school year. Applications for the position are currently being accepted. The application deadline is Friday, April 6, 2007. Employment would begin July 1, 2007.
The assistant superintendent of secondary education plans and administers the secondary instructional program, including curriculum development; curriculum articulation (K-12); and other federal, state, and local programs in accordance with the districts’ mission statement. Major duties and responsibilities include leadership in the formulation of district instructional programs and plans; supervision and evaluation of the effectiveness of secondary school principals; development of inservice training programs for administrative staff; and supervision of the instructional delivery systems to ensure that the curriculum of the district is being effectively taught.
Elementary Principals Washington Elementary School and Adams Elementary School
Following the January death of principal Beatrice Cordeiro, former Peabody principal Pat Morales began an interim assignment as Washington Elementary School’s principal. The Santa Barbara School Districts have initiated the process of advertising for the position of Washington School principal, an assignment that will be effective July 1, 2007.
With the spring departure of principal Matt Zuchowicz, who is taking a position with the Santa Barbara County Education Office, applications are being sought for a new principal at Adams Elementary School. The application deadline is the end of February.
Candidates for the principal positions will be interviewed by the school site committee composed of staff member representatives, parent leaders, plus board members, district office personnel, and a district elementary school principal. The top candidates will be interviewed by the superintendent and assistant superintendent of elementary education. Extensive background checks will be conducted. A committee then visits the final candidates’ current school site before the superintendent’s recommendation to the board of education.
Elementary principals are under the supervision of the superintendent and the assistant superintendent of elementary education. The principal is responsible for administering the educational program of the school under the California Education Code, the Administrative Code, and the policies and regulations of the Santa Barbara School Districts. The major duties and responsibilities include continuous supervision and evaluation of the instructional program for students; assist the Business Office in the development of annual budget requirements; design and implement appropriate parent involvement and parent education programs; provides leadership in establishing and prioritizing school goals and objective.
Open Alternative Students Stage “Mr. Popper’s Penguins” and “The Hobbit”
On Thursday evening, February 15, 2007, at 6:00 PM, Open Alternative School students in Leslie Frasier’s second-/third-grade class will present “Mr. Popper's Penguins.” Maureen Lehman is the musical director; choreography is by Vicki Finlayson. Then, Nitin Anand’s sixth-grade class will perform “The Hobbit.” Both plays will be directed by Eric Lehman, longtime drama consultant at Open Alternative.
The public is invited. Tickets are $3.00 for children and $5.00 for adults. The performances will take place in La Colina Junior High School’s auditorium, 4025 Foothill Road, Santa Barbara.
A theater production is something that every child at Open Alternative School experiences every year.
“Mr. Popper's Penguins,” based on the book, is the culmination of study on the17 species of penguins, as well as geography, science, social studies and language arts. Students wrote letters to the penguin keeper at the Santa Barbara Zoo in appreciation for talking to them about penguins and letting them pet a penguin. They also wrote actor biographies for the February 15 program. Another related activity was the construction of an actual size line of the various species of penguins.
To prepare for their performance of “The Hobbit,” sixth-graders read the book, engaged in in-depth discussions about the characters, and practiced stage presence and public speaking skills. All props and sets were hand-built by students and parents.
San Marcos High School’s Academic Decathlon Team Wins at the County Level and Now Heads to the State Competition
Last Saturday, February 3, 2007, sixteen local high schools in Ventura and Santa Barbara county, including San Marcos and Dos Pueblos high schools, competed in the Academic Decathlon, held at Pacifica High School in Oxnard. By the end of the day, the San Marcos High School team emerged as the winner. Next, San Marcos High School’s team will represent Santa Barbara County at the state competition in Los Angeles on March 15-18, 2007.
According to Marie Chin, Academic Decathlon coach at San Marcos High School, “The Academic Decathlon consists of ten events, including tests in art, economics, language and literature, math, music, social sciences and a nerve-racking super quiz; prepared and impromptu speeches; essays; and personal interviews. This year's theme is China and its influence on the world.”
2007 Santa Barbara Area String Festival Tonight
In a unique melding of talent, tonight more than 200 local students from elementary, junior high, and high schools (as well as community programs) will perform in the 2007 String Festival. The event will take place at 7:00 p.m. in the La Cumbre Junior High School auditorium.
The event will open with the youngest performers, more than 100 beginning elementary students in their first year of musical study, performing “Old MacDonald,” “Chitty Chitty Bang Bang,” and “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” The program will continue with performances by intermediate and advanced groupings.
The event is open to the public and is free of charge.
Parent Night in the Santa Barbara High School Districts
Parents of students who will enter junior high or high school in the 2007-08 school year are encouraged to attend upcoming Parent Nights at local junior high or high schools.
Eighth-grade Parent Night will be held at Santa Barbara High School on February 7, Dos Pueblos High School on February 8, and San Marcos High School on February 27.
Sixth-grade Parent Night will take place at La Colina Junior High on February 6, La Cumbre Junior High as well as Goleta Valley Junior High on February 8, and Santa Barbara Junior High on February 13.